The Brave in the World
by Kain Everguard
Summary: It was supposed to be over. This was supposed to be the last battle. And yet, my dearest wish to rest after rescuing my sister has been denied. But I have a way to go back. Great Red, you have cast me out in this world, and blocked my way back home. Therefore, I shall defeat you.


**I got this idea that won't leave my mind. Ramza, in High School DxD. My muse is a fleeting thing, I must admit.**

**I do not regret my decision to write this prologue. If you don't like it? Don't read it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy tactics or highschool dxd. This work is not for my profit, and is purely made for fun.**

* * *

**Airship Graveyard**

I screamed as I took a running jump, Chaos Blade in my hand glowing in ethereal light as its god-forged blade sunk into the final Lucavi's chest.

Then it detonated, releasing all its awesome power to damage, to destroy the hulking fifteen meter tall monster.

The resulting explosion tore my companions and I away from the epicenter, throwing us to the edges of the crumbling airship.

I groaned as I lifted myself up from the rotting plank of the ship. Five hours of constant battle, trying to kill the abomination born from Zodiac's dark power taking its toll on my body all at once as the regenerative power of Chaos Blade left me bloody and tired. However, it was worth it. Everything was worth the death of that monster.

"**Had I but... more power…"**

The grating voice of the Ultima monster born from Virgo stone brought my gaze back to the smoke, where the gigantic form of the Lucavi still floated in the air with a large hole in its chest.

It was definitely wounded.

But it was still definitely alive.

I still had Excalibur in my hand, its golden sheen flowing onto me and quickening my body as I tried to stand up.

But the action turned out to be unneeded.

With multiple cracks appearing in the Lucavi's body, light blue light poured forth from said cracks.

With each count, cracks increased, and beams of light continued to shine forth.

It was definitely dying.

It was only a matter of time before the being in front of me collapsed.

However, I should have known it was not over.

"**No."**

I tensed, but before I could do anything, a brown cloaked form of Cid rushed past me, slicing his Excalibur in lightning arcs that struck true.

But the Lucavi did not seem to care as it stared at me, and only me.

Meliadoul chanted as she swung down Ragnarok, a sharp ethereal power shaped like a blade erupting out of the ground to pierce and blow away a side of the Lucavi's head.

And yet it's bone-like head seemed to smile as it spoke.

"**I shall… Not die alone… Child of the Braves. The champion of Zodiac Braves shall end with me!"**

Multiple holes opened up on its body as barrage of gunfire from Balthier struck, piercing through the body that had previously been impenetrable through magic.

A sword infused with ancient materia erupted from its front from the back at the bottom center of the monster's body, and the sword suddenly rose up from the bottom to the top, cutting the whole body of the enemy in half. The spiky hair of Cloud was visible just above the head of Ultima.

The Lucavi then began to disintegrate from its feet.

And the airship floating in the limbo of the spaceless-space also began to disintegrate.

I saw the energy crackling at the center of Ultima's body, the Virgo stone emitting a high pitch whine as it vibrated, and I knew what would happen a moment later.

I ran to the collapsed form of my sister, who fell unconscious during the battle due to the high density power emitting from each of our strikes jarring her weakened body. The power of Excalibur aided me, pushing my body forth faster. My hand wrapped around her body, and I placed my back to the abomination as it began to detonate, trying to shield my sister from the worst of the blast.

I glanced back at the Lucavi and my comrades also backing away from the floating monster.

And as if the time had slowed down, I clearly saw a burst of blue, spherical energy spread out from the Virgo stone. It crushed all the remnant of the airship as it spread out, eventually engulfing my comrades and I in a bright blinding light as I felt the airship disappearing beneath my feet.

For a few moments, I felt the feeling of starting to fall, the gravity of the spaceless-space acting upon all of our bodies, but I wasn't worried about such a thing when the way back was already gone, destroyed by the ultima demon Loffrey.

This was possibly a suicide mission, but as long as the enemy was finished, we had a chance to survive and go back.

Then, a tug stopped my body from falling into the void of the limbo present in the graveyard, and I looked up to see what had stopped our fall.

My eyes widened in horror.

No.

The inky black vortex began to form up in the top of the spaceless-space, and it began to suck everything in the limbo, and at the center of it all, I saw the remnant of the corpses of airships beginning to get crushed into small masses as it reached the apex of the pull.

I instinctively understood that this was the final blow of Ultima, the Lucavi of Ajora.

Much like how it had crushed the Holy Ydoran Empire with the gargantuan wave of water so long ago, it had decided to bring its foes to the death with it.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat the hell is thiiiiiiiiiis!"

"Kugh, we are getting sucked in! Everything is slowly getting pulled into that thing!"

I heard Balthier and Meliadoul cry out behind me as I still held onto Alma, who was screaming into my chest to muffle her voice. We began to slowly rise up, the black vortex consuming everything with ease.

Out of all my comrades, I saw Cloud struggling to jump from one debris of the airships to another to go downward, but his efforts were in vain as the pull of the black storm was too strong.

We had to destroy that vortex to have any miniscule chance of surviving.

From the side, I saw Cid and Meliadoul come to the same conclusion, and they began to swing down various holy spell blades into the vortex, which even sucked up the ethereal power and crushed them within.

And I knew, that unless we could pull force power that could destroy that spell on top of us, that we would all die.

But where? Where would I find the necessary spell work to combat the spell? Even the power of my Dark Knight skills were only equal to holy bladework cast by Cid, and I had a severe doubt that those would be useful here.

"R-Ramza!" Alma cried out from beside me, and I looked down at my sister to see her staring at the pouch that held most of the Zodiac Stones.

It was pulsing with faint light.

Then, the pouch shredded into pieces of fabric as the stones began floating away from me.

All I could do was stare in astonishment as two more stones floated down from wherever they were before, floating before me.

13 Zodiac Stones, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Serpentarius gathered themselves in a circle around Alma and I at the center, all of them pulsing with resonance.

I had seen the same type of resonance once, and my face twisted into that of anger and hate.

_God Stone Bearer._

_With us do now treat._

"No!" I growled loudly, the image of Wiegraf as he reached out for power coming to my mind, as well as the monster he became.

_God Stone Bearer._

_With us do now treat._

_To Thine desperation and desire for power we answer._

_Thine brood's doom now assured._

_Unless thou accept our power._

As if to accentuate their claim, dark pulsing light shone from the edge of the crystals once again before thirteen masses of energy shot to the center of the vortex, enlarging it, strengthening it, making our ascent faster.

I brief flash of fear ran through me, a fear, not for my own life, but for the life of my sister. The concern for my sister's life cut deep into my heart, and I clenched my teeth, my hold on my sister tightening briefly before I bled strength from my arm lest I harm my sister with my strength.

I looked down on Alma, who was looking at me with fear and exhaustion.

She smiled with a flashing smile despite the grime and dust that covered her overall.

"It's alright, Ramza. I'm not afraid."

And I understood.

I was never the one that was strong or brave between my sister and I. While I always had some degree of fear and hesitation born from uncertainty, my sister never failed to be sure of what she wanted, and what she had to do.

Even when our mother had died and left the two of us alone, my sister, in all her innocence and gentleness, had been the one that had supported me from behind when I had despaired. That support had been taken away from me by the Lucavis, and I, in all my need for my sister who I had used as an excuse to endure the days in our youth made of apathy and coldness, had desperately struck against the foes that had kidnapped her.

She had always been individualistic and confident.

And she shined in my eyes like never before.

Underneath the exhaustion, fear, and desperation, I saw defiance and resolution, and I knew my answer.

I turned back to the stones, my answer set with grim determination.

"No." I shook my head with finality. "I refuse your coaxing, your lies, and your power! I have no need for corrupt and unjust power honeyed with lies and malevolence! Disappear from my sight, Lucavi!"

The Zodiac Stones around me stayed silent, and I felt as though it was regarding me with something akin to interest, and judging me for what I was.

_God stone bearer._

_This is your final chance._

_With us do now treat._

_All the power to save your brood._

_Yours forevermore._

"Begone!" I shouted as I let one arm holding Alma let go and swipe it to the side as though I was dismissing them.

A silence descended as every one of my teammates and I looked at the stones, wondering what would happen.

Then all 13 stones began to shine, the core of the stones beginning to emit white light that washed away all purple energy not was surrounding the stones previously.

And the stones spoke once again, but the voice of the stone changed from what it once was.

_God Stone Bearer._

_Thine resolution and bravery hath brought forth our presence._

_Thou art I, and I art Thou._

_Claim Thine rightful power as a Brave._

And the beams of light of all thirteen stones suddenly burst forth and struck my body.

"GAhAck!" I gasped out before power began flooding my body, infusing itself in my blood and soul.

"Ramza!"

"Ramza! fight it! Don't let it take over!"

"Still getting sucked into the vortex here! Could we focus on not getting crushed into a pulp before worrying about our esteemed leader?"

Various cries(and Balthier's cheeky remark) erupted from my comrades and Alma. However, they did not have to worry, for this power…

This power was not that of the Lucavi.

It was… the power of the Zodiac Braves.

And with the power, I knew what I had to do. I slowly let one of my arms unwrap from around Alma, and raised it over my head even as the light continued to pour from the thirteen stones, and a beam of light burst from my raised fist, striking the vortex in the void, effortlessly destroying the spell, scattering the broken remnant of the spell all over limbo.

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

With a mighty cry and sudden influx of power, the malevolent remnant of the broken power in the air began to condense, the purple mist solidifying to a cross between humanoid and draconic visage as large as Ultima was before his destruction.

As my comrades and I slowly floated down onto the black groundless-ground of the limbo, the monster came fully into being, roaring out into the airless-air, its voice filled with despair.

"**Why? WhY, WhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWHYYYYYYY" **The monster cried out in anguish, clutching its dragon-like head in despair and anger. "**Why do YOU manage to attain the power that I besot for centuries! Why do YOU manage to grasp the power of the Braves? Is it because your blood is that of the Braves? Is it because of the body that you wield? The name of Beoulve that you have?"**

I looked at the monster before me, and the Braves fed me the details of what the creature before me was.

It was an abomination, indirectly born from the iron will of Ajora, whose body and spirit were ultimately broken, and the shattered iron will had instilled the desperation, anger, fear, and hate of the largest magnitude.

Emotions which eventually brought forth the strongest of Lucavi, who promised him happiness, who promised him freedom, who promised him power.

Power to destroy what he hated.

Power to not need the bonds that he had forged.

Power to destroy everything.

It was pitiful.

I was so, so pitiful.

He was like me, who had the necessary body and mind for greatness, but failed in the end because he was ultimately alone in the world, which broke him under its weight.

Ajora was, despite all he had done, a human who had prayed for assistance from higher power to help him in his most desperate times. However, the being that answered his prayer was not the gods that he had believed in, but the demon that preyed upon human weakness to invade their heart and mind, turning their vessel into servants of Lucavi.

"Blood does not matter." I began walking toward the fallen host of Ultima who desired power so much. "Nor does my name, or body."

Yes, every human had the potential to be the Brave, and every human had the potential to be the Lucavi.

I thumped my chest with my fist. "What matters is resilience, sense of righteousness, and the will to carry out your belief regardless of the trials you face, not be persuaded by the insidious whispers of power and help."

A harsh grating sound of malevolence personified burst out from the creature, and I noticed a moment later that it was laughing.

"**Resilience? Righteousness? Will? You believe I lacked any of that? I infiltrated the Ydoran Empire, found unjustness and manipulation by the nobles on common men, endeavored to save the people, forged through battlefield after battlefield , crawling through mud and blood of my enemies and allies! In the end, when I lay defeated by the hands of my captors as my closest family and friends were being executed one by one, was I supposed to reject the power being given to me? I, who was forced to see each and everyone of my dear one become corpses in front of me, was supposed to reject power when it gave me a chance to save my dear ones? Where is the righteousness in that? Where was justice, which should have smitten the unjust nobles? WHERE?!"**

Answer came to me, supplied by the beings at stood behind me.

"You saw what the nobles became after using the power. You saw what kind of atrocities they committed with their power. You were given the same choice as I, Ajora. You had a choice to reject their malevolent lies."

A chuckle began escape from the monster in front of me.

"**A choice you say. Perhaps there was such a thing back then in your point of view. However… I reject your justice, and the choice that was supplied to me through such justice. I reject your definition of righteousness, I reject your power! I REJECT ANY POWER THAT YOU HAVE IS THAT OF JUSTICE!" **He fell to his knees in front of me, before whispering. "**For a man that is forced to sacrifice his loved ones for righteousness cannot be just."**

I nodded at his answer, and brought up my sword. "I accept your answer, what you are, and why you are what you are, Ajora."

But the creature still had something to say before I smote him down. "**And you will not live to enjoy that power, child of the Braves."**

Sensing ill intent, I brought down the sword diagonally, splitting the being from shoulder to hip.

Then Ajora howled. It was a howl of someone who had lost, yet made his enemy suffer. It was a howl of malevolent glee.

"**I must thank you Brave! For collecting the thirteenth stone! Without Serpentarius, it would have been impossible to do this!"**

All the power within the monster in front of me suddenly coalesced into purple energy which shot out at the Zodiac Stone, before the stone began to vibrate with purple energy.

"Kuh!" I struck at the stone with Excalibur, but before I could do so, the stone shattered, erupting in a pillar of purple and red pillar that extended out into the limbo before exploding in a giant wave.

The wave washed over us, but I did not feel any pain from the blast, and looking at my comrades, I figured out that they did not feel any pain either.

Only silence reigned.

* * *

"...What was that?" Cid muttered.

"Here's hoping the sod blew himself up." Balthier spat blood down onto the void, not looking as though he believed himself. I did not blame him. the last comment gave me the feeling that Ajora had a last trick up his sleeve.

"Well, let's not stay here to find out!" Meliadoul began to walk toward us by jumping from one piece of airship to another, like Cloud was doing.

"Agreed." I nodded, and gathered up the power that was stored within me, the abundant source of energy within my body, giving my body a warm feeling along with ancient knowledge of how to get out of this place.

I gathered up the power within me, and spoke. "Faoles chees de vanda! Zorda ramud feolia… Zumal, Reeve of Time, by oath onto you I am bound. Timeless, cross you now the vastness of time's gulf. Throw wide her gates so that we may pass!"

Then, I sliced Excalibur in the air, where a small distortion opened up with crackle.

The spell I invoked was not that of large scale teleportation like Loffrey did, but a small portal that led to our world. I did not have the spell array like the one on the bottom of Orbonne, so this was the best I could manage.

"...It looks big enough for us to crawl through at least." Balthier pointed out dryly, and Cid cuffed him over the head.

"Be glad that we at least have a way back boy. Now, Alma? Meliadoul? I think manner dictates that either one of you go first."

"I'll go first since we have no idea what's on the other side." Meliadoul volunteered, but added a comment drily. "After all, with our luck, the portal may by up in the sky."

Then we heard the roar.

Then we all froze as great pressure bore down on all of us, squeezing us from all sides as though the air had turned solid trap.

"W-What's happening?!" Alma cried out in distress, her body hunching over as the pressure bore down on her with impunity like all others.

While others were suffering, the inner power within me flared up, releasing me from the pressure.

_Use us._

What?

_Worthy foe cometh. There won't be enough time. To buy time for thine loved ones to escape, thou shouldn't hold back._

What worthy foe? Where?

Then, it descended.

It came without a sign.

I was sure that it was not above us before. It was as though the being had rented a space in the limbo to appear before us.

For a few seconds, I could not understand what was before me.

It was **red, and so so BIG.**

Then, as I stared at the gargantuan- no, the word gargantuan could not give it justice. It was the size of a mountain, a being of so much mass and _power _that its presence alone alerted me that we would all **diediedie **if attacked by that being.

It was definitely the biggest dragon that I had ever seen. The largest dragon that I had seen before this being, which was the black fell dragon created from black magic of Celebrant Bremondt, had _**nothing **_on this serpentine monstrosity

The dragon was red, and it took up a view of a _horizon _in its size. It had a red horn that was shaped like a blade tripling the size of ethereal blades of light from holy sword skills, with gigantic wings that seemed big enough to almost cover two other horizons.

It looked terrifying,

"What-?!" Cid choked out, which was much more than what others could handle. Cloud seemed to be sweating and grimacing, bracing his body in a low stance to not collapse. Balthier and Meliadoul were not so physically and magically powerful to resist collapsing onto their knees. Alma had already been knocked unconscious.

The great red dragon regarded us with its attention, his eyes narrowing as it surveyed us.

In response to its curiosity, I unsheathed Excalibur, my movement jerky, and my grip on my sword tight as nervousness flooded me.

If it attacked, we would all die.

If I could have used the power of the Brave to their full potential, I would have had a miniscule chance to indefinitely delay the monster, but all I could do now was buy a few seconds. A few minute at most.

Because despite the power I wielded, I was not yet an avatar that could use the power inside of me to its full effect.

Silence reigned as it stared at us. Measured us. Judged us in its mind of whether we were worth attacking.

Then, it attacked.

The first warning that I had of its hostility was the further narrowing of its eyes as though it did not like what it saw.

The second warning was the rearing of its head to the back as though it was breathing in deeply.

Those two warnings gave me enough time to analyze its actions, match it with countless other fights I had with smaller dragons that had also breathed in deeply whenever it went for a breath attack, and reacted accordingly.

The knowledge was already there, in the back of my mind. I already knew what kind of power I wielded in my body now. And yet I did not understand the scale of power I wielded in my body. The instinct, not my own, shot into my body and the word came out of my mouth naturally as though I had always known how to use my powers.

"_KARKINOS!_" And I swung my sword, completing the usage of skill.

Not a moment too late, as golden fire burst out of the dragon's maw, bathing everything around us in its fiery torrent as it destroyed **everything** to the point of it not being burning, but _dissolving _into nothingness.

The flame did not reach us as a dome of orange energy surrounded us, protecting us from the blast of fire.

Without stopping, I invoked the next power within me, but felt a strain on my body as it struggled to accommodate the power to two different beings flowing through my body to be invoked.

"_Hydrokohoos!_" I shouted as I pointed Excalibur at my comrades, bathing them in light blue energy.

"What- is… this?!" Cloud grunted out as he felt his body free up from the immense pressure that left them all unable to move.

"Hurry!" I shouted at them, turning back to the dragon as it stopped breathing fire. "Get out of here! Go through the portal!"

The moment the words left my mouth, the dragon came closer to the dome of energy created from the power of Cancer, walking on the groundless-ground, before its claws made into crude fist and smashed into the barrier.

The knuckles the size of a large mansion pressed upon the barrier, flattening the side of the barrier as if it was denting steel, the flat surface coming close to my face before it stopped and began to crack at the sheer power and weight behind the blow.

In response to the strain that the magical barrier was going through, I strained my whole body, knowing that the power of the barrier depended not only the power within me, but also my will to not let it dissipate at an overwhelming force.

Then, the knuckles stopped pressing on the barrier, but I saw that the dragon was preparing another attack. It's claws uncurled from its fist and made a knife like shape with its claws gathered to maximize the piercing power.

Knowing that the barrier won't survive any other attack like the dragon's previous one, I dismissed the power that sustained the barrier coursing through me, and brought up another power.

Bringing forth another power so soon was akin to making the limit to the stretching of my body's capabilities for using the powers almost to the breaking point.

But it did not break.

No, it was better to say that I didn't let it break.

With a shine, the barrier collapsed, and the dragon struck, lashing out its claws as though it wanted to skewer me.

I could not block the strike, which Karkinos could not defend even with its status as the greatest defensive power of the Zodiac Brave.

Therefore, I chose to parry.

"_Tavros!_" I shouted out with all my heart just as the claw neared my body, twisting my body diagonally while holding Excalibur so that the claw would scrape against it just as it sailed over my body, before I swung my blade with all my power, pushing against the claws so that the trajectory of the stabbing motion(which was now going toward my comrades, who were already going through the portal) would change to pass over our heads-!

"UWAAAAH!" I shouted with all my might, bracing against the ground, using every single muscle within my body to push the claws that were twice the length of ballista bolts above my friends.

_PAKAN!_

The unstoppable force of the claws that were descending toward us was knocked away a few meters, but it was enough!

"Ramza!"

I glanced back, and found Cid the only one left on this side of the portal, gesturing me to come quickly.

"Go!" I shouted at him, beginning to run with all my power back to the portal myself.

I saw the dragon rear back its head, and turned around and ran backwards toward the portal even while facing the dragon that had collected its balance again after over extending the stab toward us.

Cid, with a worried glance at me, crawled through the portal, leaving only me to run away from this creature.

Was it going to try and extend its face to eat me?

I could block the teeths and go through the portal.

Was it going to try its dragon breath at me?

I could outrun it with the speed I was going at with the super strength granted to my leg, propelling me across the battlefield.

Which one would it be?

It was none of the attacks that it had used till now.

"_**Uppity little mortal."**_

And it _roared._

_a sudden force, smashing into my form, flinging my body over the portal and out into the endless void with painpainpainpainPainPainPainPAINPAINPAIN-darkness_

And only thing I could feel for a few seconds were only pain and disorientation as if I didn't know what was up, down, sideways with my sight having been blacked out and my ears hurting as if they had burst at the sheer scale of the sound.

Then everything disappeared but the pain as I collided against something.

It felt like I went fifteen rounds against the massive monk army of the Grogh Heights. There wasn't a place in my body that didn't hurt.

Just what the hell had happened to me?

With the shock of whatever blow the dragon had inflicted upon me, the two powers I was maintaining cut off with a snap, leaving me feeling drained and heavy. I was so, so tempted to lay there and wash off to blissful unconsciousness.

But, my instinct as well as the voices of the power within me urged me to remember that unconsciousness meant almost certain death. They also helpfully supplied me with images of my comrades and loved ones, and what I had to do to continue seeing them again after fighting for such a long time while every moment of my journey offered me perilous challenge after challenge.

I quite hated this power that rang inside of me during that moment.

But I still followed the voices' advice.

With a painful gasp, I pushed off the surface below me, and my vision slowly came back to me. The image that my eyes tried to take in swam, and I threw up whatever I had in my body.

I blearily lifted my head up, and even as my vision wavered, I could make out the huge form of the dragon few hundred meters away with the portal to go back home by its forelegs.

The dragon raised its foreleg and-

Stomped down the portal, destroying it with ease.

A choked cry of rage and hopelessness burst out of my chest, trying to stand up, but unable to as my balance was compromised from the burst eardrums.

All I could do was crawl, my right hand still holding Excalibur through whatever miracle I didn't recognize.

I instinctively knew that could not beat that monstrosity of a dragon even with all my power within my core. I was not skilled nor powerful enough to event utilize them to their best potential, and I couldn't even begin to call forth power when my body was in such a miserable state.

I could not even run away.

It was likely that I would die.

I could not even find the desperation and fear associated with the idea as sheer exhaustion set in at the realization that no matter what I did, I would probably not live to tell of it.

In the back of my mind, I hated myself all the more for it.

I watched as the dragon lumbered itself toward me, the being itself realizing that I was beaten through its ancient wisdom and knowledge just by looking at me.

Death was certain whether or not I resisted my fate.

But I would not die crawling on the ground like a beggar.

Deep inside me, past the new power that I had obtained, past my consciousness and subconsciousness, a primal being that searched to survive and dominate woke. My mind became aware that my death was certain, but if I was to die, I would, if I couldn't kill the being in front of me, would wound him so that he may remember that I did not die at its mercy.

I looked up at the dragon with my eyes set, my determination aroused, and my will hardened.

The dragon looked down at me with eyes showing emotion akin to amusement.

Anger blazed up inside me, filling me, overflowing from my body. Rage rushed through my veins, and within that emotion, I used a skill.

"Sanguine Sword!" I swung Excalibur feebly, but the skills of Dark Knight never depended on the health of the body. It even worsened it with impunity with some skills. No, what it needed for its fuel was raw emotion, and the discipline of controlling the emotion to a magical strike. Whether it be desperation, love, or excitement, the emotion and its intensity fueled its power, and the discipline sharpened its edge to a piercing blow.

And the rage and anger coursing through me fed it. nourished it. strengthened it.

Enough to damage the dragon even a little bit.

The red blade erupting out of the ground at the dragon's feet, doing nothing but pricking it and making it annoyed.

But that was enough.

What mattered was that it did damage. And with damage, equal amount of healing came back to me. Even if the damage was only a slight annoyance to the dragon, to me, it was like a healing salve spreading across my body.

My bones snapped into place, my tendons reattached itself. My muscles returned back to as it were. My body was riddled with injury, both inside and out, but what I needed now was not factors that would let me live, but the factors that would let me move.

So I moved.

Even as blood began to gush out of my mouth, and the limbs began to ache as the muscles stretched to their limit and broke like strings, I moved.

Nevertheless, I could not really do anything to it with my power, even as a Dark Knight. One breath, one roar, one swing of its huge limbs and I would become a bloody smear on the ground.

So I called.

And they answered.

Thirteen Zodiac Stones

Even using three powers of thirteen Zodiac Stones pushed me to exhaustion, leaving me gasping for breath and crawling on the ground, unable to muster up even one shout of pain.

But what did pain matter in the face of death? What could exhaustion do in the face of total annihilation and desperate attempt for survival and vindictive desire for revenge and pain of my opponent?

For one moment, the powers surged up, and burst from my body.

For one moment, a humanoid figure of a knight that was half as large as the dragon in front of me appeared, its white sword of power already raised over its head for a swing toward the underbelly of the beast.

In the next moment, I swung Excalibur, and the white avatar that contained me swung in an identical motion.

And the dragon, not expecting the sudden blow, could not move out of the way or block the blow with its arms.

The white ethereal blade of pure power scored a large gash on the dragon's chest, and continued going down toward its belly as the blow tore through its flesh.

It slowed down as each muscle in the dragon's body was strong and thick enough that almost nothing in any world could cut through them.

And yet, it still _hurt _the dragon.

But it did not hurt the dragon enough to kill it.

For the dragon was a being of ancient power and knowledge. With the experience of a being that has lived since the time of immemorial, the dragon had reacted as soon as the blade had bit into its shoulder, and both of its clawed hands grabbed onto the blade as it descended across its chest, stopping it just before it cut into its belly.

In the next moment, the giant knight of light disappeared, and I fell, the white coalescing power cutting off from my body as it could no longer endure the strain.

Even as I rapidly lost consciousness in mid air, I could still see the dragon and the last of its actions.

In its eyes, I saw rage.

In its eyes, I saw shock.

In its eyes, I saw wellspring of emotion that I couldn't identify.

And that was the last thing that I saw.

* * *

It's eyes glowed as it came near the boy, and a red haze of energy surrounded him, lifting his limp body up into the air until he was level with the dragon's face.

It's horned snout came very near him, the sharp horn coming very close to impaling him in its razor sharp edge.

The dragon was angry.

It had been a very long time since anyone had injured him.

Not since the last apocalypse, the Great Red had always dominated in his fight against many other beings that seeked to kill him.

And yet, the boy had injured him, even though the blow had been a fluke.

For all rights, the dragon should have obliterated the boy, make him into a fine red mist in a corner of the distortion space.

And yet, it didn't.

To the proud being, it felt wrong to desecrate a defeated foe, and this foe had been especially worthy of respect in its last struggle.

Then it snorted a little, turned its eyes away, and a crackling distortion opened up behind the human, before he was bodily flung into whatever was behind that distortion.

Even in its dying unconsciousness, the boy had refused to let go of his weapon, and the dragon laughed.

It laughed in merriment, and at the slight entertainment the mortal had provided.

And it left, flying in the limbo with its injuries already healing, roaming around the space, looking for anyone that dared to interrupt its flight, all the while internally chuckling and imparted the last few words.

"**What kind of Dream will you make, Brave?"**

* * *

**AN: And here we go, another story.**

**(Runs away from flames and cries for more chapter on other stories.)**

**Thoughts? Feelings? I hope the review is about this story, not the other stories that I haven't been able to update due to real life problems killing my muse.**


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